Push The Button

Many years ago I worked in Training and Development, back in the days when I put on a pair of heels instead of trainers and strutted my stuff in the corporate world.

I loved it.

Standing in front of a group of people and usually spending the first half hour persuading them that being there was actually for their benefit and well worth a day away from the to do list.

That feeling when I knew I had got through to them and they actually wanted to be there and often thanked me at the end of the day.

What fascinates me (and always has) is what happens in that moment when they decided it was OK, they could relax and commit to this?

Later I was on a training course myself learning about how to train others in Stress Management and the trainer described stress as a little man/woman in our head looking out for danger. When danger was imminent the little man/woman in our head would press the button that released the chemical reaction that we have to stress.

We push a button.

For me I have a few buttons in my head – think Inside Out! Ones that need to be pushed to motivate me to do things and ones that need to be pressed to get my body to do what I know it should.

The one I am most interested in is the one that we push that changes our path from – “I need to lose weight or get fitter, I’ll look into that” (contemplation) to “OK I am doing this and I’m starting right now” (action).

It happened to me a couple of weeks ago.

I knew all winter that things were off track.

I wasn’t getting up early enough in the mornings for a full workout. I was eating more carbs and way too much sugar. My two a day coffee habit was edging towards a regular three.

And I knew I had to do something about it.

I was feeling rubbish but I was too busy to look up and actually do anything about it.

Stress is a funny thing, it adjusts the way you react to things and when you are in stress response for a long time it can affect your choices.

I can justify that extra coffee because I am tired and stressed, I deserve a bit of chocolate because I have had a busy day.

But this was just not me, sometimes knowing what to do, even knowing how to motivate others is not enough and it takes some determination to work on yourself.

I was beginning to forget how good it feels to be on top of my game.

So a few things happened and I stopped talking about doing something about it and I started making plans.

Then finally I took action. I did it. Committed to actually making the change.

It was a combination of things that made me do it, I can’t quite put my finger in the trigger that made me finally take control again but I knew that I could do it and I knew I would feel so much better when I was on track.

I pressed the button.

The one that makes me actually do it.

How about you?

Do you know what you need to do to press the button?

Do you remember what made you trigger any changes you have made in the past?

What drives you to make the decisions you make every day?

Whatever it is use it to let yourself know that it’s OK to change, you can relax and commit to this.

I dare you to push it!

Let me know if I can help with your fitness and nutrition goals, together we can work out how to push that button.

Kirsty xx